Deck 30: Managing for Psychological Safety and Well-Being

Question 1

In an organisation with a strong safety culture, when would employees first be made aware of its policies in relation to workplace harassment and bullying?

A) At their first team meeting
B) At their induction
C) At their first training session
D) At their first performance review
E) When a grievance is brought against them

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Where there is dispute over the facts of an alleged harassment, you should:

A) assume the complainant is telling the truth.
B) assume the alleged perpetrator is telling the truth.
C) make up your mind as to who to believe based on who is usually the more trustworthy of the two people.
D) call in a private investigator to investigate.
E) interview any first-hand witnesses and gather any relevant information or evidence.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

If the complainant agrees, most harassment and vilification allegations:

A) should be worked out between the complainant and the alleged perpetrator.
B) should be referred to the police.
C) should be referred to the Australian Human Rights Commission.
D) can be dealt with in-house.
E) should not be investigated; instead, a warning should be issued to the alleged perpetrator.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following is an example of a psychosocial risk factor for employees of which employers should be aware and try to avoid?

A) Poor lighting
B) Poor sanitation
C) A lack of ergonomically correct seating and positioning at work stations
D) Monotonous, meaningless work tasks
E) Temperatures being too cold or too hot

Question 5

As a leader-manager, if bullying is reported to you, you should:

A) tell the victim to speak with the bully and see if they can stop the bullying from reoccurring.
B) advise the victim that it might be best for them to resign before it gets worse.
C) advise the victim to put up with it, since it does not seem too serious.
D) advise the victim to take stress leave.
E) None of these responses are correct.

Question 6

All complaints concerning harassment, violence or vilification require a prompt formal investigation, ideally within:

A) 24 hours.
B) three days.
C) one week.
D) two weeks.
E) one month.

Question 7

A male staff member deliberately brushing up against a female staff member in the workplace on numerous occasions after she has made it clear that this behaviour is unwelcome is an example of:

A) racial vilification.
B) verbal bullying.
C) sexual discrimination.
D) sexual harassment.
E) occupational violence.

Question 8

A definition of religious vilification including a statement that it is unlawful, an explanation of how to make a complaint and the consequences for an employee who might engage in this unlawful behaviour would be likely to be found in:

A) an enterprise bargaining agreement.
B) a workplace health and safety (WHS) policy.
C) a dignity policy.
D) a leave policy.
E) a workplace communication policy.

Question 9

Occupational violence includes not only physical violence perpetrated against a victim but also acts such as spitting, tripping and psychological violence such as ostracism and stalking.

Question 10

When harassment in the workplace is alleged, fully informing the alleged offender of the complaint and providing them with an opportunity to respond to it is necessary as part of complying with:

A) the rules relating to evidence.
B) the rules of procedural fairness.
C) the presumption of innocence.
D) equal employment opportunity.
E) All of these responses are correct.

Question 11

Under which type of leadership style is it more common that harassment and violence, either verbal or physical, are likely to be allowed to occur?

A) Participative
B) Consultative
C) Democratic
D) Laissez-faire
E) Authoritarian

Question 12

If a complaint alleging serious sexual harassment is substantiated and investigation shows that this behaviour had grown progressively worse over the course of a year, the most appropriate penalty for the offender would be:

A) termination of employment.
B) to undergo training in understanding the nature and effects of harassment.
C) to make them apologise to the victim.
D) to have them make a commitment not to repeat the behaviour.
E) an official warning.

Question 13

Which of the following is likely to be behaviour exhibited by a professional leader-manager as opposed to a bully?

A) Single people out.
B) Attack even high-performing employees.
C) Criticise a person rather than their work performance.
D) Use their influence to improve work performance.
E) Say things that cause people to lose self-confidence.

Question 14

One Act which makes illegal any behaviour that belittles, denigrates, humiliates, insults or maligns a person or group in public based on their colour, national or ethnic origin, or race is:

A) the Commonwealth Work Health and Safety Act 2011.
B) the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004.
C) the Commonwealth Racial Discrimination Act 1975.
D) the Equal Opportunity Act (all states and territories).
E) the HYPERLINK "https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/legal/legislation" Disability Discrimination Act 1992.

Question 15

Which group of workers is at most risk of harassment, vilification and violence in the workplace?

A) Workers over the age of 50
B) Casual employees, juniors, trainees and young employees
C) Labourers
D) Professional employees
E) Middle managers

Question 16

If there are no witnesses (apart from the complainant) who can verify a harassment claim, then the claim should be dismissed on the grounds that it cannot be substantiated.

Question 17

A manager timing one of her staff members every time the latter goes to the bathroom could best be described as an act of:

A) sexual harassment.
B) overt bullying.
C) racial vilification.
D) cyber bullying.
E) trespass to person.

Question 18

Bullying in the workplace can only be perpetrated by a person in a higher position than the person being bullied; for example, a manager can bully one of the staff members in their team, but the staff member cannot bully the manager.

Question 19

Which of the following might be a key indicator that harassment and/or violence are occurring in the workplace?

A) A high level of attrition associated with a particular department
B) A high level of absenteeism associated with a particular team
C) Higher than normal accident and incident statistics
D) High or increased use of employee assistance programs (EAPs)
E) All of these responses are correct.

Question 20

If a manager was to delegate interesting work and assignments to every member of their team except for one person, this would an example of bullying in the form of an:

A) unreasonable act of commission.
B) inappropriate act of commission.
C) act of omission.
D) act of contrition.
E) None of these responses are correct.

Question 21

Regular, informal conversations with each team member on how they are performing, and letting them know that their contributions are valued can create a positive mindset resulting in increased creativity, engagement, work quality and productivity.

Question 22

If you observe that one of your staff members has shown a lack of interest in their work lately, has appeared constantly sad and has stated on a number of occasions that they feel 'hopeless', then there is a strong likelihood that they are suffering from:

A) carpal tunnel syndrome.
B) depression.
C) heart disease.
D) bipolar disorder.
E) obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Question 23

Which of the following is not an example of a flexible work practice?

A) Job-sharing
B) Career break opportunities
C) Providing care referral services
D) Purchased leave
E) Telecommuting

Question 24

Which of the following factors is likely to contribute least to the happiness of employees at work?

A) Moment-to-moment experiences
B) Routine interactions with colleagues
C) Daily contributions to projects
D) Helping out a teammate who is overloaded
E) Job title

Question 25

Which of the following is not an advantage that organisations are likely to derive from improving their employees' well-being?

A) Lower employee absenteeism
B) Improved employee productivity
C) Greater employee creativity
D) Lower usage of annual leave entitlements
E) Higher employee production

Question 26

Stopping your team each hour for five minutes of stretching and concentration on their breathing is an example of encouraging/teaching:

A) work-life balance.
B) a wellness strategy.
C) task management.
D) high-performance management.
E) None of these responses are correct.

Question 27

If organisations can keep employees fully engaged in what they are doing, this generally results in employees being much happier and achieving better results. This increased level of engagement is known as:

A) mindfulness.
B) mindlessness.
C) mind-altered state.
D) mind-sharing.
E) mindedness.

Question 28

Which of the following would be useful to include in a stress audit?

A) Asking staff members to list their main problems and sources of frustration at work
B) Asking staff members to list the three 'best' and three 'worst' aspects of their jobs
C) Regularly monitoring absenteeism, accidents, mistakes, attrition and performance levels, and looking for changes, excesses and patterns
D) Asking staff members detailed questions about whether problems with their jobs are causing them to experience stress or stress-related symptoms
E) All of these responses are correct.

Question 29

Employee assistance programs (EAPs) offer employees, and often their families:

A) confidential, short-term counselling for personal problems affecting their work performance.
B) confidential, long-term counselling for serious personal problems affecting their work performance.
C) short-term counselling for personal problems affecting their work performance, the details of which are then shared with their employer.
D) medical treatment for physical issues affecting work performance.
E) All of these responses are correct.

Question 30

Part of a wellness program that an organisation could offer its employees to assist them when they experience a personal crisis, difficulty or problem might be:

A) a corporate gymnasium.
B) a flu injection subsidy.
C) prayer rooms.
D) fitness and lifestyle packages.
E) access to employee assistance programs (EAPs).